USS Sennet (SS-408)

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Sennet (SS-408) during Operation Highjump in 1946
Sennet (SS-408) during Operation Highjump in 1946
Overview
Keel laying March 8, 1944
Launch June 6, 1944
1. Period of service flag
period of service

August 22, 1944–2. December 1968

Whereabouts Scrapped in 1973
Technical specifications
displacement

1526 ts surfaced
2424 ts surfaced

length

95.0 meters

width

8.3 meters

Draft

4.6 meters

Diving depth 120 meters
crew

6 officers, 60 sailors

drive

4 × 1350 PS diesel engines
4 × electric motors
(total 2740 PS)

speed

Surfaced 20.25 knots surfaced
8.75 knots

Range

11,000  nautical miles at 10 knots

USS Sennet (SS-408) was a submarine used by the US Navy during World War II . It belonged to the Balao-class submarine , and was after Sennett named a barracuda -Fisch.

The Sennet was laid down on March 8, 1944 at Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery , Maine , and was launched on June 6, 1944. On August 22, 1944, she was put into service.

The Sennet was initially equipped by September 18th. She then underwent training and torpedo system tests off the coast of Connecticut and Rhode Island through October 22nd. On November 11th, the Sennet moved to the deployment area in front of Balboa , Panama Canal zone and carried out further training exercises. The submarine left Balboa on November 29 for Pearl Harbor and arrived there on December 16, 1944.

The upper deck armament of the Sennet was increased to two 12.7 cm cannons, two 40 millimeter cannons and three 12.7 mm machine guns before their first war patrol from January 5, 1945.

First and second patrol, January-March 1945

The Sennet patrolled north of the Bonin Islands until January 28th. It carried out two attacks on a large tanker accompanied by three escorts on January 21, but scored no hits. The following week, the submarine sank a 500-ton outpost boat and damaged another.

The Sennet was supplied in Saipan between January 31 and February 7 , after which it began its second war patrol off southern Honshu , Japan . On February 13, two 300-ton outpost boats were sunk by joint artillery fire from the Sennet , the Haddock (SS-231) and the Lagarto (SS-371).

Three days later, the submarine attacked an enemy mine-layer using a torpedo fan on their tail tubes. Two torpedoes could be heard exploding. While going up-deep, the Sennet was shaken hard by aerial bombs exploding under it . The submarine surfaced an hour later and saw a large oil stain and about 40 Japanese people clinging to floating debris. Apparently the miner Nariu was sunk.

Third and fourth patrols, April-August 1945

The Sennet was serviced between March 9th and April 2nd in Apra Harbor , Guam . She then patrolled again from April 3 to May 16 in front of Honshu. Three days later, she torpedoed and sank the cargo ship Hagane Maru . On April 22, the attempted Sennett a P-51 - pilot rescue, which was bailed out by parachute nearby. Although it was only about 30 meters away from the ship, it could not be recovered.

On April 28, the boat attacked the repair ship Hatsushima with two electric torpedoes and sank it. On May 1, the Sennet fired five torpedoes at an Asashio-class destroyer , but scored no hits.

The Sennet's most successful patrol took place between July 1st and August 9th in the Japan Sea. During the patrol, she sank a passenger cargo ship, two cargo ships and a tanker , a total of 13,105 gross tons .

1945–1951

When the war in the Pacific ended, the Sennet was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet and operated from Naval Submarine Base New London in Connecticut . In June 1946 she was subordinated to the Submarine Squadron 6 at Balboa in what was then the US Canal Zone. From December 10, 1946 to March 13, 1947, the Sennet took part in Operation Highjump , Byrd's third Antarctic expedition . She was damaged by pack ice on the Arctic Circle and dragged into free water with the help of the US Coast Guard icebreaker USCGC Northwind (WAG-282) .

The Sennet was then in Balboa until 1949 as part of U-Boot Squadron 12 from Key West , Fla. stationed. The ship conducted training for submarine and anti-submarine personnel in Key West and on Guantánamo Bay , Cuba . In 1951, the Sennet was converted into a " Fleet Snorkel " submarine at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and returned to its home port.

1954-1973

On November 4, 1954, the Sennet was moved to the 6th US fleet in the Mediterranean . She stayed there until August 1, 1959. Then she was subordinated to Submarine Squadron 4 and stationed in the Charleston naval base . For the next nine years the submarine operated from Charleston with the Atlantic fleet. It was used along the US east coast, in the Caribbean and in the Atlantic until 1968 .

On December 2, 1968, the boat was removed from the Naval Vessel Register of the US Navy and on May 18, 1973, the hull was transferred to the scrapping company Southern Scrap Material Co. Ltd. sold in New Orleans , Louisiana .

The Sennett received four "Battle Stars" for their service in World War II .

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